Month: April 2019

Monday of Holy Week: 15 Apr 2019 – Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11 ~ chosen to demonstrate righteousness

Monday of Holy Week

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

O God, King eternal: Your light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning. Drive away from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to obey your Word, and guide our feet into the way of peace. Fill us with your Spirit that we may do your will cheerfully during the day, so that when night comes we may rejoice and give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reading from the Old Testament – Isaiah 42:1-7 (NLT)

“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.

“He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”

God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says,

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.”
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Reading from the New Testament -John 12:1-11 (NLT)

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.
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“Psalm 27 (One Thing)” – Shane and Shane

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Closing Prayer:

Almighty God: Your beloved Son first suffered pain and crucifixion, before entering into the joy of glory. In your mercy, grant that we too may find the way of the cross to be the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Palm Sunday, 14 April 2019: Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 19:28-40 ~ the humble King

Palm Sunday

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening Prayer:

Almighty and eternal God: You sent our Savior into the world out of live for us. In humble obedience he took upon himself a body like ours and gave himself up to death on the cross. In your mercy, grant us the grace to learn from the example of his passion and to share in the glory of his resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
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“At the Name of Jesus” – First-Plymouth Church (Lincoln, Nebraska)

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A Reading from the Letters: Philippians 2:6-11 (NLT)

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Luke 19:28-40 (NLT)

After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
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“Israel: Jerusalem: Palm Sunday Parade” – AP


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Intercessions:

Sovereign God: You sent your Son into the world to save us. Come to us now, in this our time of need. We pray especially –

+ For all believers pondering the events of Holy Week…. Lord, renew us.
+ For the Jewish people, in preparation for Passover…. Lord, redeem them.
+ For those suffering the effects of natural disasters…. Lord, help them.
+ For those suffering the effects of war and violence…. Lord, deliver them.
+ For those who are sick in body, mind, or spirit…. Lord, heal them.
+ For all who are lost, in bondage to sin and death…. Lord, rescue them.

Compassionate God: In the death and resurrection of Jesus you have shown your love for us. Hear our prayers and grant them, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Hymn: “Humble King” – Charl Folscher

Benediction:

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” (Romans 8:16-18)

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Saturday Morning: 13 Apr 2019 – Ezekiel 37:21-28, John 11:45-56 ~ the plot to kill Jesus

Saturday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O, that today you would pay attention to his voice!
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Reading from the Old Testament – Ezekiel 37:21-28 (NLT)

And give them this message from the Sovereign Lord:

“I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. I will unify them into one nation on the mountains of Israel. One king will rule them all; no longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion, for I will save them from their sinful apostasy. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.

“My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy.”
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Reading from the New Testament – John 11:45-56 (NLT)

Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.

So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?”
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“New Covenant” – (Yeshua) Joshua Aaron

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Closing Prayer:

Almighty God: You created the world and all that is in it, and on the seventh day you rested. Thank you for consecrating the seventh day as a day of rest. Help us set aside our “to do lists” and earthly worries, that we may be prepared to enter into the your presence in worship, and there experience a foretaste of your promised eternal rest in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Friday Morning: 12 Apr 2019 – Jeremiah 20:10-11, John 10:31-42 ~ “I am the Son of God”

Friday Morning

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O, that today you would pay attention to his voice!
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Reading from the Old Testament – Jeremiah 20:10-11 (NLT)

I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.”

But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
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Reading from the New Testament – John 10:31-42 (NLT)

Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”

They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”

Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” And many who were there believed in Jesus.
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“Overcome” (Psalm 18) – James Block

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Closing Prayer:

Almighty God: Your beloved Son suffered rejection, pain and crucifixion before he entered into the joy of glory. Grant that we too, walking in the way of the cross, may discover it to be the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Pause to Ponder Holy Week and Easter

Pause to Ponder Holy Week and Easter

Our 2019 New Testament Reading Plan has taken us through the Gospel of John and the Book of Romans. We will continue our reading plan with the Gospel of Mark after Easter on Monday, April 22nd.

Since Holy Week and Easter are only a few days away, it seems right to pause our reading plan in order to ponder the events that forever changed the world and, in turn, forever changed our lives by making us right with God.

Definition of ponder

transitive verb

1 : to weigh in the mind : appraise pondered their chances of success
2 : to think about : reflect on pondered the events of the day

intransitive verb

: to think or consider especially quietly, soberly, and deeply

We will be following the daily USCCB Lectionary Readings on the days leading up to Easter. Please pause to ponder what God has done for you.

May God transform us into new creations by changing the way we think.
Then we will learn to know God’s will for us,
which is good and pleasing and perfect.

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